PolicyAlerts

2008 Independence Day District Work Period

Washington, DC (June 16, 2008)- Your Congressional representatives will be home at the end of next week for the Independence Day District Work Period, which runs from June 28 through July 6. This is a great opportunity to schedule a meeting with your representative. As a constituent, your issues and concerns speak far louder than ACT can on your behalf. So call your representative’s district office, and ask to schedule a meeting or invite him/her to an event. ACT has provided some talking points as follows.

While Democrats have signaled their intention not to move quickly on new legislation prior to the November elections- so we are not pushing hard on any legislation at the moment-, it is always valuable to remind your representatives of:
* Who you are and what you do in the district.
* How your work benefits constituents.
* Of any legislation that you support.
On the latter point, here are the bills to ask your representatives to support (if they are not already co-sponsors):
* H.R.5867- Energy Conservation through Trees Act. Introduced by Rep. Matsui (D-CA), this bill encourages utility companies to partner with local nonprofit tree planting organizations to plant trees to reduce residential energy demand. The purpose of the legislation is to help homeowners lower their electric bills (and help utilities lower their peak load demand) by reducing residential energy demand caused by the need to run air conditioners and heaters at a high level.
* H.R.6078- GREEN Act of 2008. This act encourages energy efficiency and conservation and the development of renewable energy sources for housing, commercial structures, and other buildings to create sustainable communities. The Alliance for Community Trees has worked closely with Congressman Perlmutter (D-CO) to advocate for the inclusion of best practices in urban forestry and planned green development.
* The Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies spending bill is going to markup in the House this week. ACT asks that members advocate for a FY 2009 budget of $50 million for the Forest Service’s Urban and Community Forestry Program and to ask Congress to direct the Forest Service to invest $8 million of its FY 2009 research budget in urban forest research at selected Research and Development units.
For more information, contact Alice or Jared at 301-277-0040.Related Resources:H.R.5867- Energy Conservation through Trees ActH.R.6078- GREEN Act of 2008Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Spending Bill